Chapter 6: Treasures and Terrors
After swimming for what seemed like an eternity, but was really half an hour; the mermaids finally arrived at the old sunken ship.
"Here we are." Smoky Quartz said to the group.
Lapis swam up and emerged from the water and waved to the Mermaid's Cradle which was not too far away, yelling; "Hey! Over here!"
"Lapis, wait!" Steven cried out before his sister dove back underwater. "We wanna help you find the compass too!"
"Yeah!" Connie said, confidently. "That's right!"
"You shouldn't have to do this alone." Jamie added.
Lapis thought for a few seconds and then shouted out to her dad, "You got the rope ladder for when we're ready to get back on the boat?" Greg nodded and gave her an assuring thumbs up.
"Okay, guys!" Lapis called to her friends. "Jump on down! Don't worry. You'll be okay."
Very carefully, the three human kids climbed on the ship railing and jumped off the ship and into the sea.
"I don't suppose you can use your magic to turn them into mermaids or something, right?" Lapis asked her fellow mermaids.
"Actually, we have something else in mind." Amethyst said, cleverly. "Hope your friends are good swimmers."
Joining hands, the seven mermaids combined their magic to create three, medium-sized filmy bubbles.
"Take one of those bubbles and put them over your head." Sapphire told the three humans.
They were skeptical at first, but they did as they were asked without question. Once each of the kids had a bubble over their heads, they waited a few seconds and then the bubbles popped and a white aura surrounded them.
"What's going on?" asked Connie in confusion.
"Those bubbles gave you the ability to breathe and talk underwater, endure water pressure, and you have invulnerability to hostile sea creatures." Peridot explained. "Now you're ready to dive down with us."
"You kids be careful." Greg yelled to the four kids.
"We will, Dad." Lapis said before everyone dove underwater.
Everybody kept swimming down until they reached the seafloor just then few feet away from the shipwreck.
"So how do we find this compass?" the blue teenage mermaid asked her kin.
"Maybe it's locked in a treasure chest on the wreak." Jamie guessed.
"Well, you don't really find the compass." Rhodonite explained. "It has to find you. You have to prove that you are worthy of using it and then it will reveal itself to you."
"How do we prove our worth?" Steven inquired.
"We'll find out soon enough." Lapis said, about to head towards the shipwreck when a pale hand grabbed her arm.
"Wait. Before you go in there, we want you to be prepared for the dangers you may bump into." Pearl warned the inexperienced mermaid. "Some very bad creatures use their magic of create obstacles that prevent mermaids from getting what they want."
"We'll be careful." Connie promised. "You all stay out here and guard the wreak." Lapis told the other mermaids as she and her human friends swam into the wreaked ship.
"Let's get searching." said Steven. "We'll check every nook and cranny if we have to."
The kids spent about seven minutes scouring the entire ruined ship, but no luck. While the other three started to feel like the compass was a lost cause, Lapis had no interest in abandoning the search. The thought of her birth mother was still ablaze in her mind.
Suddenly, Jamie felt an ominous sensation creep over him as a cold eye stared at him while his back was turned.
"Guys?" he asked the others. "Do you ever get the feeling that we're being watched?"
"Look out!" Lapis gasped as a set of sharp-toothed jaws almost chomped the teenage boy. Just then, a pack of four medium sized sharks appeared before the kids. The mermaid almost immediately recognized the species. "Blacktip sharks! Everybody swim for it!"
The four kids swam away as fast as they could, which only made the sharks give chase.
"Why are they attacking?" Connie asked.
"What if they're guarding the compass from us?" Lapis guessed.
"Well whatever the reason, we've got to find a way to give these sharks the slip because they're getting closer!" Jamie said, looking over his shoulder.
"Lapis, what do we do?" asked Steven, feeling scared.
The blue mermaid tried hard to think of a plan, despite having a panic-strickened mind.
"Split up!" she finally shouted. The four kids swam off in separate directions, the pack of sharks only followed Lapis instead one shark going after one kid each.
"They didn't go after us." Steven said as he, Connie, and Jamie regrouped.
"That's because we have invulnerability to them." Connie remembered.
"Yeah, but Lapis doesn't!" Jamie cried in alarm. "And the sharks seem to be after her specifically."
The blue mermaid kept swimming until she found herself cornered in what used to be the captain's quarters of the wreak. The shark pack had already caught up to her. The three human kids followed behind the predators and saw their friend in danger. Lapis looked back and forth from the sharks to her human friends and then had an idea.
"If I have the ability to communicate with the creatures of the sea, then maybe I get through to these relentless sharks." the blue mermaid thought aloud. "Everyone, get behind me, now!"
Jamie, Steven, and Connie quickly swam up and behind the mermaid and waited for something to happen. Then, Lapis clenched her eyes shut, put her hands on her head; and sent telepathic waves towards the sharks to convey a message.
"Don't attack us!" Lapis spoke, telepathically. "You have absolutely no reason to. Just let us search for our treasure in peace, please!"
The sharks took heed of the mermaid's plea and swam away from the wreak. The three human kids cheered for their mermaid friend.
"Lapis!" cried Steven, giving her sister a big hug. "You did it!"
"I've never seen anything like that!" Connie replied in amazement.
"That was the most incredible and courageous thing I've ever seen you do." Jamie commented to Lapis.
She blushed at her best friend's comment. Just then, a golden light illuminated the captain's quarters and a glinded, opalescent compass appeared before the young mermaid.
"We passed the compass' test of worthiness!" she said, victoriously.
Outside the wreak, the seven mermaids heard the sound of Lapis crying out to them, "Everyone! We got it!"
They turned around to find the inexperienced mermaid and her human friends swimming towards them.
"The Compass of the Undines." Opal said awe.
"I can't believe it!" Pearl exclaimed, taking the compass from Lapis. But then, looked at it dubiously as nothing happened. "That's odd. It should be showing the way to Iridesca. Why isn't it working?"
"Let me see it again." Lapis said to Pearl who handed the treasure back to the blue teenage mermaid.
To her fascination, the compass began to sparkle and the needle spun around until it stopped and pointed to the east. Everybody watched as the instrument operated properly in Lapis's possession.
"I guess it responds to the mermaid who needs it the most." Sapphire thought aloud.
"It looks like you'll have to lead the way, Lapis." Rhodonite told the taller blue mermaid.
"Okay, then let's head east!" Lapis told her friends, sounding like a confident leader. Everyone started swimming to the east with the Mermaid's Cradle following close behind.